16th Finance Commission Forms Five-Member Advisory Group: According to a statement from the Finance Ministry, the Arvind Panagariya-led Sixteenth Finance Commission established a five-member advisory council on Tuesday to provide advice on the Commission’s Terms of Reference (ToR), help with research paper writing, and help expand the Commission’s purview.
Poonam Gupta, who serves as the director general of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and as a part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), will serve as the convenor of the five-person panel.
The panel also includes DK Srivastava, Chief Policy Advisor at EY, and Neelkanth Mishra, Chief Economist at Axis Bank, who also serves as a part-time member of EAC-PM and the chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The other members of the council are Rahul Bajoria, head of Bank of America’s economic research for India and ASEAN, and Pranjul Bhandari, chief economist for HSBC.
According to the statement, the advisory council’s roles and responsibilities include assisting the Commission in expanding its scope and knowledge by looking for the best national and international practices on issues related to fiscal devolution and enhancing the calibre, applicability, and enforcement of its recommendations.
In addition, the council shall counsel the commission on any matters pertaining to the terms of reference or other pertinent topics. Additionally, it will support the writing of papers and research studies and oversee or evaluate studies that the Finance Commission commissions, improving the commission’s comprehension of the subjects covered by its Terms of Reference.
